Why SCORM 2004 failed & what that means for Tin Can

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Athanasios Papagelis

“SCORM 2004 is dying (if not already dead!).” Now that might seem like a strong statement but it’s the sad truth. For the careful observer there are many signs to support this view, and here are a few of them:

Sign #1: 75% of packages are still on SCORM 1.2, 10 years after the initial release of SCORM 2004 [1] [2]

Sign #2: There is no certification process for tools and packages for the latest SCORM 2004 4^th edition. This is the case although several years have passed since 4^th release. Currently, someone can be a 4^th edition adopter but *not* certified. [3]

Sign #3: ADL itself heavily supports Tin Can as the successor of SCORM.[4]

In essence, SCORM 2004 always lived in the shadow of SCORM 1.2. Now, with the introduction of Tin Can API it seems certain that its adoption rate will decline even further.

Reasons SCORM 2004 Failed

There are a multitude of reasons why SCORM 2004 failed. Here are most prominent (and yes, we refer to SCORM 2004 in the past tense quite deliberately): Continue reading →

eFront V3.6.13 has just been released!

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Athanasios Papagelis

Today we would like to announce a new version of eFront!

The most notable addition to this version is Tin Can support. We took the time to bundle also several UI improvements, a WordPress integration plugin, a new introductory course, and a number of additional enhancements to make your favorite learning tool even better.

So check out what’s new!

Tin Can

This is the first version of eFront with internal support for Tin Can. eFront has implemented the 0.95 version of the standard, which is the most recent one. On top of the implementation you will find a robust way to filter down the reports per user, action or module. Continue reading →

Caring about customers

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Athanasios Papagelis

We support a lot of people each day for both eFront (and more recently TalentLMS) and we have been doing so for several years now.

Throughout this process I have discovered that being super-good at support is important for getting and keeping customers and is an essential path to prosperity. Below I have assembled a short list of 10 things to keep in mind when supporting people through tools like Zendesk or Uservoice. If you have a support team, make sure they read and practice them during their daily routine. Continue reading →

eFront 3.6.12 just released

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Athanasios Papagelis

What better time for new toys if not Christmas!

Today we would like to announce a new version of eFront. This maintenance update includes important speed optimizations, full text-search for documents for our enterprise clients, a module to bootstrap modules production, a new sleek modern theme, dozens upon dozens of minor bug fixes, and several tweaks to make your favorite tool even more enjoyable!

As we pick up once more on eFront development we will reuse some of the TalentLMS visuals and functions for a next version scheduled for March. All eFront development is being done ensuring compatibility with previous eFront versions. This is a hard requirement that slightly limits our ability to improve everything we wanted to improve; but ensures an easy transition to the newest eFront version for all of you.

Below you can find short description of some of the key elements in this version: Continue reading →

TalentLMS: Multiple languages, TinCan, big uploads & more

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Athanasios Papagelis

You are awesome!

We would like to personally thank all of you who helped us spread the news about TalentLMS. It has been 7 weeks since our official release and more than 1400 accounts have been created since then! We have very ambitious plans for TalentLMS and we will keep improving it whilst maintaining its aesthetic integrity and simplicity.

Today we would like to announce a new product update that includes many important additions. Continue reading for a list of what’s new! Continue reading →

TinCan Demystified

Posted on November 23, 2012 by Athanasios Papagelis

If you are somewhat interested in eLearning and unless you have been living on a deserted island for the last year you probably have already heard about the TinCan project. TinCan is heavily promoted as the successor of SCORM and was designed to fix many things that were lacking on the previous standard. In this post we discuss what TinCan really is and how it compares to SCORM.

The Tincan API resulted from several deliberations on SCORM 2.0 over the last five years. The standard is developed by the company RUSTICI but ADL is still the steward of the specification, just like SCORM. The Tin Can API is community-driven, and free to implement. Continue reading →

Zen in Software

Posted on November 20, 2012 by Athanasios Papagelis

The Zen philosophy asserts that inner peace and enlightenment can be attained through self-contemplation and meditation rather than devotion, faith and belief.

Life is more often than not too fast, complicated and cluttered. Simplify and you’ll be on the right track to inner peace and happiness. This is the foundation of Zen and perhaps strangely, can lead to better software as well. Continue reading →

eFront vs TalentLMS

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Athanasios Papagelis

This is part 2 of our series on TalentLMS. To read part 1, please click here http://blog.efrontlearning.net/2012/10/the-new-kid-on-the-block-talentlms.html

So, now we have two LMSs – eFront and TalentLMS. Both products share characteristics but they are also very different in some very important aspects. In this post I will try to better clarify the main differences to help you choose the LMS that best fits your needs. Continue reading →

TalentLMS is NOT in BETA anymore

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Athanasios Papagelis

After several months of Beta testing and refining, TalentLMS has been officially released today, October 5^th. This is just the first of many steps towards building the best learning tool for small organizations. And boy, we have a very active Roadmap.TalentLMS is based on People, Principles and Technology. In this short post I would love to talk a bit about all three of them. Continue reading →

Re-evaluating the LMS

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Athanasios Papagelis

The LMS is 20+ years old. It is time to re-evaluate it, get back to its roots and see things from a new perspective. Technology shifting towards the Cloud, Mobile and the Lean approach to software development are key factors in building the new LMS. We envision it as a tool that emphasizes results over functionality.

This process will not be an easy one and the new LMS, unavoidably, cannot be a perfect fit for everyone. But is better to start making a few people very happy than keep a lot of people somewhat happy.

Getting LEAN

Our LMSs are FAT. We, the technology providers, have driven buyers to choose based on functionality matrixes rather than core needs. And the typical result is the creation of bloated, forgettable software dripping with mediocrity – software that is rarely used.

This needs to change. We need a mind shift regarding how to build and select an LMS. We need to make the LMS lean. We need to be smart and practical in what to keep and what to remove. We need to concentrate on not getting in the learner’s way. We need to concentrate and improve on the real value that LMSs bring to the world. Continue reading →

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